New Years' Blues: A Service Honoring Grief and Hope and Growth
Schedule
Mon, 26 Jan, 2026 at 07:00 pm
UTC-05:00Location
3600 W Friendly Ave, Greensboro, NC 27410-4812, United States | Greensboro, NC
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Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer’s poem, "What if, instead of grief," sows the seeds for our Annual New Years’ Blues gathering. This is a service of music and embodied reflections honoring grief and hope and growth.What if, instead of grief,
we call it pollination,
a process through which we realize
the gold of our hearts must spill out
and if we are to survive as a species,
it requires we somehow exchange
this gold with each other—all our hearts
splayed open, all our hearts needing
what the other hearts have.
It’s messy. Vulnerable.
And this is how we go on.
Your grief. My grief.
The quiet buzz of conversation.
This splitting open. This spilling.
This sharing with each other.
-Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
Some communities hold a Blue Christmas Service on or near the winter solstice. These Longest Night services make space for the grief and loss that live entangled with hope and growth. And anger and fear. Some of us are not merry, not shouting “Happy New Year!” Some of us are sincerely celebrating. It's messy.
Acknowledging the complexities of our lives and world, we come together to sing, cry, pray, hurt, long, hope, paint, and plant. You can expect beautiful music and brief reflections from speakers. You will be invited to write or draw and to visit “prayer stations.” Participate however you wish.
Whether you are grieving or celebrating, hurting or hopeful, Salvage Garden’s New Years’ Blues Service is an opportunity for personal and collective reflection. Our hearts need what other hearts have.
“…the gold of our hearts must spill out”
Salvage Garden embraces a wide range of identities and beliefs, ages and abilities. Like our sensory worship experiences, this gathering welcomes movement and stillness, noise and quiet, verbal and nonverbal participation. In a casual space, our setup allows for audience-style seating, round table seating, or lounging in bean bags. Light refreshments will be available. Donations are encouraged to compensate the musicians and to support Salvage Garden but not required.
We extend a special invitation to folx who have experienced the pain of exclusion and discrimination by the church and society. What faith? No faith? Come on.
We welcome faith leaders, social justice advocates and activists, anyone who finds it difficult to to be nurtured because of their work/life roles. Come on. Pastors. Parents. Kids.
Those of us who are angry, those of us who are depressed. Those of us who are lonely. Those of us who feel blue, those of us who feel just fine. (It’s all fine. Everything is fine?)
Gather in the Community Center at First Lutheran Church, 3600 West Friendly Ave., in Greensboro, at 7:00 p.m. Use Entrance B near the playground.
Featured Performers and Guests
Danie “Big Hope” Jones
Brad Bennett
Rev. Dr. George Fuller
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Where is it happening?
3600 W Friendly Ave, Greensboro, NC 27410-4812, United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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